


Your Closed Eye Watching Me, Listening

by TrisB



Category: Chronicles of Narnia RPF
Genre: F/M, His Dark Materials - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-12-02
Updated: 2007-12-02
Packaged: 2017-10-28 22:02:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,097
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/312632
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TrisB/pseuds/TrisB
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Will, I don't think most people who were not invited to the premiere of <i>The Golden Compass</i> are taking it this personally."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Your Closed Eye Watching Me, Listening

**Author's Note:**

> Contains some general information about the _His Dark Materials_ trilogy, but no specific spoilers for the books or movie.
> 
> This is strictly a work of fiction that is not intended to be taken for fact or rumour. The only definitely true things in it are that Lulu Popplewell [played Lyra Belacqua](http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/arts/hisdarkmaterials/characters.shtml) and William really did yell at cows. Title from "At My Most Beautiful" by R.E.M.

Will's calling Anna's mobile for the fourth time today when she finally answers. "William," she says, and he can hear her eyebrow raising in her voice. Well, no, he can't, but he's onto her. He knows.

"Annacat," he intones.

"Oh, for the love of —"

"For the love of your agreeing to do something with me tonight, and only on this condition, will I agree to not call you that."

"That's evil. Besides, I'm busy."

"Yeah, I'm sure that gap year of yours is really taxing. It occurred to me that you haven't seen the flat since I've finished with it."

Now he thinks he can hear her eyes roll. "I'll have you know that getting ready for university and a press tour at the same time does take some actual planning. Did you get a couch finally?"

"AND a table!" he crows. "It's green. The couch, that is. I think you would love it, but then how could I know, since you wouldn't go shopping with me once to help me look for things to sit on?"

The line crackles. "Did you try your ass?"

"You're so clever, Annacat. You see, this is why I need you with me."

"Shut up," Anna replies in a cross tone that sounds a lot like a smile. "What do you want from me, bully?"

"Heathen movie we're not invited to's playing at nine. I think it'll be grand."

  


⁂

  


"Will, I don't think most people who were not invited to the premiere of _The Golden Compass_ are taking it this personally," Anna says. The line is long; when William decides where they're going the lines are always long, unless it's some scuzzy vintage art coffeehouse conceptual pawnshop or worse, in which case the nearest civilized person would appear to be miles from shouting distance.

He pushes at the brim of his grey fedora with conviction. "Yeah, but most people aren't me."

" _Really?_ "

"All I know about these stories is that they're, like, meant to be the mortal enemy of Narnia. Anna. I," he places his hand on her shoulder and gives her his widest earnest-est eyes, "am the High King of Narnia. Me. That is personal."

Anna's glancing madly to and fro, and she knows her expression must be ridiculous and rabbity, but if she looks him in the face she'll just break up completely. "What a burden this vendetta must lay on your majestic soul," she ventures.

"Exactly! I don't know how you're taking it so well. Also, can you tell me what this movie's about?"

  
Anna knows a lot of _The Golden Compass_ by heart, quite literally: when Lulu was preparing to play Lyra, she'd read the whole trilogy to Lulu out loud, citing Elder Sister Privilege as well as Experienced Actress Advice in instituting bedtime stories for someone less than three years younger than herself. To help her perfect her lines Anna read the other parts, doing voices for each one. The opposing roles they've taken are a bit of a joke between the two of them, but trying to explain the story and how it has anything to do with Narnia as William perceives it is much more of a joke.

"Look, see," Anna points to a poster of a polar bear in the lobby, "that's Iorek, Lyra's kind of — friend and protector. If you want to think of these stories as anti-Narnia, he'd be the counterpart to Lucy's relationship to Aslan."

"I see," William says, scratching his chin enigmatically.

"But I think there's some of that in Asriel, too," she indicates a glowering Daniel Craig, "just listen to the names, for one."

"Fascinating," William drawls, now rubbing his eye in great mock thought. "But, listen. Where am I?"

"Where is the anti-Peter, you mean?"

"That's what I just said, isn't it?"

Anna looks to the ceiling, hung with a giant alethiometer mobile. "Well, you, Your Majesty, and all of the other Narnia boys I suppose it could possibly be, don't have a counterpart in this part of the trilogy. But, since it's so personal and all, I'll tell you a little spoiler."

"Oh?" After years of waiting, Anna and William are finally at the front of the refreshments line, but they ignore the harried popcorn servers, who ignore them right back. Somebody behind them groans.

"His name is Will," Anna says, her mouth quirking a little. "He is strong and devoted and kind of dreamy. And he saves every possible world."

  


⁂

  


They've talked the movie out on their way back to William's place. He can tell Anna's annoyed about something that happened in it, but she won't say exactly what because, she says, it's a big spoiler. He figures he'll read the books next week and surprise her by knowing exactly what went wrong. "But hey," he says as they enter the chilly flat and he attacks the thermostat with some gusto, "how about that first trailer they showed? Was that fantastic or what?"

"Oh, yeah," Anna grins for the first time since they left. "That young man is ever so handsome. What's his name, William Snoozeley?"

"Whoever he is, he's a real up and comer," Will tells the thermostat, "and someone out there should hire him to be in their fucking pretentious West End play."

"And I'm sure he'd be willing to play a naked teenage horse molester, since that's in these days. Did you know, I heard that he practiced playing a king by yelling at a field of cows?"

Will whips around and fairly pounces Anna, causing a lot of snorty giggling as they each battle for dominance of the green velvety couch. "That is quite enough out of you," Will declares when he unsurprisingly wins, squashing her between the arm of the sofa and his own warm mass.

Anna replies that he can take her leg room, but he can never take her ability to mock him. He counters by running a hand along her jaw and into the soft hairs at the base of her neck. She grins and snaps at his nose and then she is thoroughly kissed — not something they've done in a while, but being alone together in his first flat would call for it even if he could reasonably resist that kind of adorable twinkle in her eyes.

"Anna," he asks a few minutes later, "what do you think of my couch?"

With her head nuzzled against the hollow of his clavicle, brunette hair tickling at his nose, he can't see her face; he's sure she's smiling anyway. "It's kind of showy," she says, "but it'll do."


End file.
